Apr 3, 2025
Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University outfielder Owen Latendresse (left) and catcher Caleb Gardow high-five after Latendresse scored a run during a Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference baseball doubleheader against Minot State at Milroy Yankee Field on March 27. SMSU will go on the road to play four games against Concordia-St. Paul this weekend.
ST. PAUL — Through its first 16 conference games, the Southwest Minnesota State University baseball team is sitting in second place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Mustangs will look to continue to solidify their position near the top of the league when they go on the road for a four-game road series against Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday and Sunday.
SMSU is 16-7 overall on the season and 11-5 in conference play, while Concordia-St. Paul is 12-14 overall and 8-8 in the NSIC. Most recently, the Mustangs picked up a four-game sweep of Minot State last weekend behind the play of Levi Lampert, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Player of the Week after hitting four home runs for a 2.000 OPS on the week. True freshman Jamison Quinn was also recognized on the NSIC weekly release as one of the week’s notable performances for his seven-inning, one-run outing on the mound.
For the Golden Bears, Eric Berg hit his first career home run while putting together a .429 on-base percentage and .615 slugging percentage in the Golden Bears’ split with Minnesota Crookston. Ian Segna also tied his season-high with nine strikeouts while going six innings in a 3-1 win over the Golden Eagles.
This weekend’s series will mark SMSU’s first time playing at Barnes Field since 2016. SMSU went 3-1 against Concordia-St. Paul in the regular season last year, but fell 8-4 to the Golden Bears in the NSIC Tournament elimination bracket behind Bennett McCollow and Mason Naldoney’s home runs. Segna went six innings while allowing two earned runs in his start for the Golden Bears.
Segna has been an ace all season for Concordia, ranking sixth in the NSIC with a 3.90 ERA and 33 strikeouts over 30 innings.
For the Mustangs, Carter Petron has been the ace of the team with his 1.80 ERA ranking second in the conference over 25 innings pitched. He’s also struck out 26 batters while giving up 13 walks and 16 hits.
As a team, SMSU’s 4.15 ERA ranks second in the NSIC and its .234 batting average allowed is a league-best by 23 points. Their 1.34 WHIP also slots in at 15th in the NCAA. Concordia-St. Paul’s 5.98 ERA and .274 batting average allowed both rank sixth.
Ryan Chmielewski and Quinn also rank 11th and 14th in the NSIC with a 4.25 and 4.91 ERA.
At the plate, McCollow has been among the more consistent hitters for Concordia-St. Paul with a 1.089 OPS and six home runs in 91 at-bats. Julian Noah also ranks 10th in batting average at .400, but the Golden Bears rank ninth as a team in the category at .283. Their 165 runs scored on the season also rank eighth in the conference, one slot behind SMSU’s 184.
Lampert has led the Mustangs with a league-best 1.430 OPS. His .444 batting average also ranks third in the NSIC while his eight home runs rank second. Freshman Jared Cortez has also compiled a 1.063 OPS and a ninth-ranking .403 batting average, while Lampert and Cory Bantam are tied for 10th in the NSIC with 24 RBIs.
Both SMSU and Concordia-St. Paul have had their fielding struggles, tied for eighth in the 14-team league with a .965 fielding percentage. Those errors have resulted in 29 unearned runs allowed for the Golden Bears and 17 for the Mustangs.
Saturday’s doubleheader is slated to start at 1:30 p.m. while Sunday’s is scheduled to start at noon. The Mustangs will follow this weekend’s series with its home opener against Wayne State on Wednesday.
Marshall head football coach Terry Bahlmann was named the Minnesota Football Coaches Association’s Class 4A Coach …
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